


Turn

by Lilith



Category: Gunnerkrigg Court
Genre: F/F, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-21
Updated: 2009-12-21
Packaged: 2017-10-04 21:57:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/34530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilith/pseuds/Lilith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A year ahead of the current storyline, something's up with Annie.  Kat finds herself worrying that her friend's growing affinity with the creatures of the Forest is going to come between them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Turn

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cosmogyral](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmogyral/gifts).



On Saturday morning, Katerina Donlan lifted her face from her pillow only to immediately let it drop back down with a groan.

It had not been a good week at the Court. It was the last one before the winter holidays, so everyone had been cranky and impatient about having to go to class, even Kat (well, a little bit). She was so looking forward to having free reign to work on her own projects and chat endlessly with Annie; being forced to focus on general classwork was a strain, and circumstance certainly hadn't made things any easier.

Janet and Winsbury had caused a stir by toppling out of a random closet onto poor Paz's head, in front of at least three witnesses from Thornhill. They were still vehemently denying that anything was going on between them, even though of course the whole school had been onto them for years. Winsbury had been walking around viciously insulting everyone and tripping up hapless 7th years whenever they were unfortunate enough to be standing between him and a snowdrift. Janet was just glaring and aloof and wouldn't talk to anyone.

Meanwhile, Boxbot had somehow managed to _eat_ a third of Mrs. Donlan's newly graded term papers—in spite of having no digestive system to speak of—before she'd had a chance to return them to her anxious 11th years. Kat had promised her mother that she'd take a look at the troubled robot over break, in case she could retrieve some of the work, but her hopes were not high.

On Thursday, some sandy-haired boy from QS had asked Annie out for the fifth time, but when Kat tried to tease her (as Annie always teased her about her handful of nerdy and vaguely beaky-looking dates), the redhead had clammed up and wandered off to the study hall to work on her twenty-third bonsai tree. They were scattered all around the populous areas of the Court by now; it would probably have been a record, if anyone had bothered to keep one.

Kat rolled over with a huff. Come to think of it, Annie had been moody earlier than that. She'd been quieter than usual lately; more like the solemn, staring, somewhat off-putting Antimony Kat had first met. Her lessons with Jones were, if anything, longer now that Parley had left for University, and afterwards Kat would often find her lying on her bed or in a corner of the workshop, idly forming abstract patterns with her blinker stone; her eyes miles away. More than once, Annie had started violently when Kat spoke – that part was new. Also perplexing.

Plus, after their last spacemonauts adventure, Kat had been caught up in a long, involved conversation with Matt and Margo about the latest Dr. Who spoilers. By the time they'd petered out, the girls' locker room was entirely deserted. When she'd tracked Annie down to their 9th year suite, Annie had just made some vague comment about not wanting to monopolize her social time; something she'd been doing again recently, even though it always made Kat deeply indignant. Not the cool kind of time warp at _all_.

(Hell, she'd thought Annie liked Margo! They had all gone for a carriage ride through the season's first snowfall earlier that month, laughing and singing carols. Kat had even coaxed the 'h' model robot into neighing along, temporarily leaving off its usual rambling repertoire of unidentifiable war stories. Annie's cheeks had flushed in the icy wind, which sent her hair flying as she joined in the chorus of "Here We Come A-Wassailing," her delicate soprano soaring over Margo's mellower mezzo and Kat's . . . well, Kat wasn't much of a singer. She totally made up for quality with enthusiasm, though! Anyway, Annie hadn't seemed particularly dreamy or distant when she'd shoved a handful of snow down Kat's collar on their way back indoors, blinking innocently at the sputtering indignation it caused. Margo had already headed inside. They'd chased madly about the yard, giggling and scuffling as Reynardine curled his wolf-body on a nearby stoop and watched them with an air of (entirely false) superior maturity.)

After the Dr. Who incident, Annie had taken Reynardine and vanished somewhere into the deserted portions of the Court, returning later to entertain Kat with stories of a recently-established café tucked away not far from the hairdresser robot's salon. It had been nearly empty, except for a cluster of crotchety, broken-down old contraptions haranguing each other squeakily in a back corner, and that vaguely amphibious-looking Foley boy studying alone by the window. The robot baristas had been friendly, although the cocoa they had presented her with had tasted strongly of motor oil. Annie's dryly comical descriptions of the mechanized geezers had left Kat giggling; giddy, in part, with relief. Her friend's eyes were once again shining with enthusiasm; not a hint of her previous remoteness remained.

. . . which had lasted all of a day. "I simply do not find the prospect appealing," Annie had said flatly, cutting Kat short as she theorized that that Welch's idea of a hot date would be introducing her friend to his insect collection. (Which, come to think of it, didn't sound so bad to Kat.) She'd vanished down the hallway before Kat could ask whether she meant the insects, or spending time with Welch – but Kat already knew the answer. When Annie had returned that evening, brushing tiny clippings from her school sweater, she'd gone straight to bed without a word.

When she'd seen her friend on Friday, which hadn't been for long—Jones had apparently decided that the Forest's Yule celebrations would require extra preparation for a budding medium—things had been fairly normal between them, if perhaps a bit stiff. Kat suspected that Annie might be rather embarrassed by her earlier display.

Ugh. Kat rolled herself into a sitting position, adopting an air of determination. She scrubbed a hand through her tangled mass of black hair. It was the first day of the holidays, and her best friend was going to be staying over with her. They would have fun if it _killed_ them.

-

Annie was sitting on her bed, folding some of her clothing for her stay with the Donlans. Even though Kat's parents lived right there in the Court, it would have been silly to go running back to the dormitories constantly. As Kat came through her door, she took a pale purple blouse and folded it neatly in thirds, before placing it into her small suitcase and smoothing it down gently. Toy Reynardine was perched on her bedside table, trying to argue with her.

"Child, you're being _rash_. The Forest at night—particularly _this_ night—is _much_ more perilous! Why is that fool Eglamore allowing you to go?"

Annie's lips tightened, but her voice was even. "Mr. Eglamore did offer to accompany me, but he should know that Coyote will not permit it, _particularly_ on such a sensitive occasion. However, I will be perfectly—"

Reynardine's round cloth legs flailed ineffectually for a moment before he paused, scrunching his little stitched face into a grimace "Fine. I'll go with you."

"Do not be ridiculous," Annie shook out a slightly crumpled navy jumper. "I will be perfectly safe; Coyote has guaranteed it, and in spite of his quirks, he does have his own sort of honor. Your company is only likely to cause an uproar, and perhaps violate the accord between Court and Forest. I will be much safer without you."

Kat decided to intercede at that point. She could almost have sworn that the pale fabric of Reynardine's cheeks had reddened slightly.

"Morning campers!" She cried cheerfully, popping into the room. "Ready to head on over to Villa Donlan?"

Annie dropped a final pair of socks into her suitcase and closed it with a _snap!_ "Lead the way!" she smiled.

-

They chose an outdoor route to the Donlans' house, rather than the corridors and tunnels that would have sheltered them most of the way. A fresh layer of snow had fallen overnight; not enough to hinder their classmates' homeward journeys, but sufficient to lend a sense of newness to the aged, weather-beaten Court buildings. Their way was not well-traveled; a muffled stillness hung over the cracked stone edifices, unbroken even by the ring of their footsteps on the paving stones. Reynardine padded along, quietest of all, behind them.

As they rounded a corner past the crumbling statue of a long-dead mathematician--his prominent ears each decorated with a single icicle--Annie took a quiet breath. "Kat . . . I want to apologize for my behavior this week. I have not been the most pleasant company, I think." She looked pained.

"Aw, it's okay," Kat shrugged. "I shouldn't have teased you like that." She paused. "Annie . . . " And paused again, not sure how to put her next question.

Annie gave her a small smile. "There is no need to be concerned for me, Kat. I am glad that you have been enjoying new forms of companionship this year—" and not pining over birds, she didn't say (but Kat suspected she was thinking it) "—however, I simply have no interest in such matters. I have a great deal to occupy myself with; learning to ease communication between Court and Forest is . . . most complicated." She paused. "Also, I confess that I am not at all sure that the notion of love appeals to me. From what I have seen …" she paused again. "Well. It is also most complicated, to say the least."

Kat kicked at a small snowdrift, frowning, and reflecting on what exactly Annie had seen of romance. Her mother had, by all accounts, been the object of many men's—and foxes'—affections. Kat was unsure of the details, but she had observed how strange things became between Annie and Reynardine when Surma was mentioned, and she could hardly have missed her friend's strange resentment of an always oddly awkward Mr. Eglamore. Annie rarely spoke about her father, but Kat thought darkly that her inexplicably absent parent could hardly have been the most inspiring example of a loving and attentive partner. There was certainly an air of discomfort around her own parents when Anthony Carver's name came up, even when Annie was not present to be reminded of her apparent abandonment.

Then there had been all that drama between Parley and Smith (though that had turned out fairly well, eventually), and their discoveries about the Court's very history had contained examples that were anything but encouraging. Kat thought of a frantic woman, her cool pride shattered by fear, and the strange, self-satisfied smirk spreading across the lumpy, bespectacled face of the man who had claimed to care for her. She shuddered.

"I don't think it has to be," she started doubtfully, but Annie just shrugged and took her hand, squeezing it. "Perhaps not. But for now, I am more than content to have _your_ friendship."

Kat grinned, an easy warmth filling her suddenly, making her fingertips tingle. They had reached the steps to her parents' house. "C'mon, let's go drop our stuff—I'm supposed to do some maintenance on Robot today, and I think I have a new idea for improving my techno-organic skin culture!" She had not given up on the idea of creating a truly convincing android, much to Annie's amusement.

They trooped in the doorway together, stomping bits of melting ice from their boots as Kat's mother came forward to greet them, casting a cautious (as ever) glance at the suddenly stitched-together wolf who brought up the rear.

-

"Pass me that calibrator, would you?" Kat called cheerfully, blinking at Annie through her protective visor. Annie took a moment to recall exactly which tool was being indicated, before handing it gingerly over. She took a seat at the table once more, her own class notes spread amongst Kat's mess of diagrams and odd bits of circuitry.

"So are you _sure_ you're gonna be safe tonight?" Kat asked from where she was half-submerged in the half-built structure of her new incubation device. "Everyone keeps making such a big deal out of this Yule celebration thing."

"I am sure," Annie said firmly, glancing over at the large white form that was curled up near one of the space heaters, seemingly asleep. "Reynardine is simply being ridiculous. He wishes to protect me, I suppose--"

Don't tease, don't tease, don't tease, Kat reminded herself silently.

"--but while the same may not be said for him, in a sense, I do not think I have much to fear from the denizens of the Forest." As if anticipating Kat's protest, she added "Ysengrin may not approve, but he follows Coyote's wishes. And I - enjoy visiting them." Her voice held a note of fondness. "Coyote is a wild and capricious creature, but he is wise as well, and most entertaining company. His cryptic responses to my questions are no worse, in their way, than the enigmatic front presented by the Court. The other Forest creatures I've met are fascinating and, for the most part, friendly - their way of life is different from ours, but not in the end, incomprehensible." She almost sounded wistful, and Shadow 2, who was flitting about around her feet, cooed in agreement. "I do suspect that some of the beings most willing to visit with me are those that were formerly human . . . however, they strike me as rather more contented by their choice than some of our acquaintances in Foley House."

Kat was experiencing an unusual twisting in her stomach, which made her pause a moment in her technical ministrations. She dismissed it as a pang of residual sadness over a long-lost friend, who for all she knew might have been one of Annie's Forest acquaintances. She refrained from asking whether Annie was at all familiar with the avian population.

Just then, there was a knocking sound from the delivery entrance. Annie reached over and hit the button that made the metal sheeting roll upwards on its own; an earlier convenience installed by Kat. A tall, broad-shouldered figure was revealed on the snowy pavement outside. He stamped his feet and ducked into the warehouse, unwrapping a long blue scarf that covered most of his features.

"You about ready to go, Carver?" he asked with a small smile, as Kat jumped up, dropping the calibrator to the floor with a clatter.

"Mr. Eglamore," Annie acknowledged. "I had lost track of the time - but yes, I am prepared." She was already dressed for the occasion in a neat little suit of evergreen, darker and less dull than her ordinary Court uniform. It would be hidden, for the most part, under her warm brown coat, but she seemed to think the gesture was important.

"Sure you won't take me up on that suit of armor?" Eglamore joked somewhat weakly, but Annie merely looked at him. "Oh well, you're probably between sizes at this point. Well, come along." He nodded absently to Kat, who colored just _slightly_. She was getting better!

Annie, who was doing up her buttons, flashed Kat a warm smile. "I'll see you this evening." Kat waved cheerfully as the two of them slipped out into the chill air, closing the warehouse door behind them. She heard Reynardine shifting somewhere behind her, but he said nothing.

-

The afternoon wore on. Kat took a break from her work on the incubator when Robot arrived for his maintenance appointment. He sat placidly on a stool while she unscrewed the panel at the back of his gleaming metal abdomen and poked around in his circuitry. Reynardine padded up to crouch next to her, apparently intrigued.

"You seem disquieted, Katerina," he observed after a minute, almost making her jump and yank out one of Robot's wires.

"I'm fine," she retorted hastily, checking to make sure that nothing had been jostled too badly. "I was thinking about what Annie said earlier, I guess. She really seems . . . comfortable with the animals and shadow people over in Gillitie."

"More comfortable than she can be with your own classmates," Reynardine agreed calmly. Kat frowned.

"Annie's much more friendly than she used to be! She talks to people! She's just a little . . . formal, I guess, but they're used to it by now," she insisted loyally.

"And yet you are concerned," the wolf insisted quietly. "You fear that she is turning away from the life of the Court – your life."

Kat's stomach turned over; leaving her, for the moment, at a loss for words. Robot swiveled his head around to regard her, peering down at her hovering hands.

"I think – ah – changes come to everything," he spoke hesitantly. "For instance, just think! I was Seraph 13 for most of my existence, going back to the damaged parts of my memory banks, and now look! My body was made into paper clips, and I have become—what was it?"

"Vulcan 1," Kat grinned weakly, as Robot reached up to touch one of his own pointed auditory receptors.

"Ah yes."

"You're one of the most philosophical robots I've ever met," she said wryly, "and around here, that's saying something."

"Oh! Why thank you."

"You're in fine working order," she continued, closing his panel with a snap. "You're certainly taking good care of yourself!"

"The least I can do, in thanks for such a marvelous gift," the robot replied graciously, hopping down and swiveling his joints experimentally.

Kat shrugged, blushing a little. "I'm glad it's working out for you." She turned to look hard at Reynardine. "And what life do _you_ want for Annie, anyway? You freak out every time she goes to the Forest."

"I am aware of my cousin's carelessness," he responded with a lupine approximation of a shrug. "That is all. Antimony's self-possession is impressive, however. She is as strong-minded as her mother, if less forward about it – and as capable of choosing her own path."

Kat sighed, picking up a rag to clean one of her tools with. "I know, and I wouldn't want to try and influence her—"

"For someone so intelligent, child, you are astonishingly blind," the wolf snorted.

She glared. "Hey now, there's no need to be rude!"

"Of _course_ you influence her! You have nothing to worry about, Katerina," he continued, fixing her with an unsettling stare. "She may not share in your work, but her admiration for it is excessive. You are the anchor she requires in her tasks, and her devotion to you is hardly on the decline."

She sputtered slightly, unsure what his motives might be in making such statements. Reynardine was always uncomfortable company when Annie wasn't around to exert her authority.

She was searching for some sort of response, when Reynardine pointed his nose up at the clock mounted on the warehouse wall. "It has grown late; I believe your parents were expecting you at dinner?"

It was true; inside the warehouse, shadows had deepened in the corners, outside the reach of her lighting arrays. Standing, she unhooked her apron and brushed herself off, reaching for her own coat and scarf. She held the office door for Robot to tromp off in his own direction before switching off the power and heading home, not looking to make sure Reynardine followed. She felt a little childish for that, but couldn't seem to regret it much.

-

Kat headed straight upstairs to wash up, leaving the little stuffed wolf to his own devices on her star-spangled bedspread as she clattered down the stairs to dinner. Her stomach growled as she came into the dining room, where her parents were already seated at the table, along with –

"Mr. Eglamore!" She gasped, startling everyone, including herself. "Where's Annie?"

"Carver is still in the Forest," Eglamore's smile was just barely strained. "It is forbidden for any human other than the medium to linger on the far shore tonight. She'll have another escort back to the bridge at the close of the festivities."

"When is that?" Kat demanded, gripping the back of her chair heedlessly. The adults exchanged glances, and Eglamore shrugged.

"The animals of the Forest are great revelers," her mother said with a small smile. "Surma was gone all night on several occasions."

Kat took her seat, frowning into her jacket potato, and had little to say for most of the meal.

-

Annie still hadn't returned by the time Kat and her father had finished the washing up, and Eglamore had disappeared somewhere deeper into the Court. She wandered up to her room, but couldn't find the focus to work on her latest pile of assorted blueprints. Restless, she sat propped against the door of her closet, paging through a pile of recent comic books. Kate Kane was kicking a mugger's ass when Batman showed up and inspired her to turn her life around. It was pretty awesome, but she was too distracted to really take in the complicated panel sequences.

She put the issue down, and was just reaching for her small, spaceship-shaped alarm clock, when a deafening commotion split the winter quiet outside. She jumped up, knocking the device over in her haste to reach the window.

The Forest wasn't visible from her second-story window—other Court buildings blocked it from view—but flashing, shimmering lights were shining out into the sky, outlining the power lines and weather vanes stretching dark into the sky.

"What on earth--?"

Grabbing her coat, she dashed downstairs to the connecting door in the kitchen, which led into the Court's tunnel-like halls. Her parents were nowhere to be seen. She sped through deserted hallways, past empty science labs and classrooms and "No Running" signs, until she came to the great front entrance of the complex. Pushing through the double doors, it took a minute for her eyes to adjust to the sight before her.

High above the treetops at the fore of the wood, occasionally ducking and darting down in low arcs towards the far cliff face, hovered a great mass of winged creatures. It was hard to make out the individual creatures in the mass of pulsing colors, feathers, scales . . . she could see the flashing beaks of all manner of birds, tiny darting specks that must be insects, the leathery wings of bats and . . . similar creatures, but much larger. She almost thought she saw a few bursts of flame in amongst the moving bodies. The air was filled with a cacophony of twittering, cawing, and low growls.

The lights that she had seen over the treetops came from two great creatures at the very center of the mass, which circled each other aggressively; as she watched, the swarm parted around them. They were immense--many times larger than any living thing she'd seen with her own eyes--and left shining trails that did not fade, but extended down into the depths of the Forest itself. They were birdlike in shape, but flashing teeth protruded from their beaks, and clawed forelegs raked out before their immense, feathery wings. Strange bright patterns curled across their faces and bodies; the one a warm, bright mixture of browns and reds, brightening to fresh blood-color at its breast and highlighted with pure gold; the other all in greys, yellows, and greens, darkening and blending with the night air, with a stripe of bright white above its glittering eye. Their tails fanned out behind them like flags. Each also seemed to be decked with leaves and berries—or were they acorns?—which swirled and fell from around them as, shrieking, they came together with a deafening crash.

Kat tore her eyes from the terrifying display and glanced over the bridge. The floodlights were out—she'd never seen them dark before, even during the day—but lit by the flickering glow of the two monstrous combatants, she saw a small figure standing right in the center, staring upwards. Her hair was fiery where it caught the light.

"Annie!"

Kat slid more than ran down the steep stone steps and dashed heedlessly onto the darkened bridge, unable to hear the rushing water over the shrieks of the creatures above. Annie stood as if transfixed, but as Kat skidded precariously to a halt in front of her, she turned.

Her face was lit with wonder, and she reached out her hands, grasping Kat's and pulling her to stand close. Her cheeks were pinked with the cold, but her grip was warm. Kat tried to catch her breath.

"Annie—what is it—what are you—"

Annie squeezed her hands, smiled, and simply said "Hello, Kat."

Kat gaped at her, then stared up at the fierce apparitions which fought, now, almost directly above their heads. The other winged creatures had formed something of a loose circle around the adversaries, and all glided or hovered there, watching. "Annie, what _are_ those animals? Come on, it isn't safe?" Uncertain, she tugged at her friend's hands, but Annie didn't budge.

"They're not animals," she spoke right into Kat's ear, as the noise above rose again in pitch. " and we are perfectly safe. They're . . . spirits, of a sort, like the psychopomps. They are fighting to turn the year. Tonight is the solstice--the longest night--and this battle will bring the light slowly back. Coyote explained it all," she added, mildly sheepish, at Kat's incredulous look. She had an almost wild look in her eyes, totally unlike her normal calm reserve; she looked as though she were truly in her element.

Kat steeled herself and looked upwards at the flurry of wings and claws, holding Annie's hands tightly and shaking her dark hair out of her eyes. There was a great cry, just then – the red-gold creature struck an immense blow against its opposite. With a resonant, almost musical groaning, the green/grey spirit collapsed, fading as it fell towards them, spreading out into the sky and dissolving. Leaves drifted down around them like ashes, vanishing into the Annan Waters far below.

The golden spirit-monster rose up in silent triumph, burning across the sky before fading away as well. As Kat and Annie watched, the various winged animals began to disperse, back into Gillitie from whence they had come.

The lamps on the bridge flickered to life around them, momentarily blinding. Rubbing her eyes, Kat looked over at Annie, releasing her hands with a wry grin.

"I didn't break your fingers, did I?" she asked lightly. Annie shook her head with a smile.

"It was an awesome sight. I did not realize that anyone else would be able to see it." Kat shrugged; for once, she had no particular theories.

"What brought you out here? Was it the noise? I suppose you must have heard, as well," Annie continued, knitting her brows slightly.

"Oh, heh, yeah," Kat shrugged, "it was really loud. And, you know, I was kind of worried about you. Eglamore came back alone, and Reynardine kept saying that you were more comfortable in the Forest, and I guess I couldn't help thinking . . ."

Annie looked grim. "I will have to speak to Reynardine," she said in a threatening tone, "about telling falsehoods and misleading my friends."

"He's frighteningly perceptive for a stuffed animal," Kat admitted, "since I was kind of thinking that anyway. Sometimes I wonder . . . I mean, I know some people DO go away to the Forest, and . . ."

"Oh, Kat." Annie bit her lip. "I'm not going to turn into a bird and fly away. I like visiting the Forest, and learning about the creatures there – but even in my role as medium, I am speaking for the Court. I'm not going anywhere, and," she cast here eyes downward, then back up to Kat's face, "I am certainly not leaving _you_."

She paused a moment, then said quietly, "Not ever, if I can help it."

There was a beat, and then Kat broke out into a relieved laugh, some of the tension ebbing from her shoulders. "Well, good! What would I do without my main babe?"

Annie laughed too, and Kat saw that she had something caught in her hair. She reached out and plucked a tiny sprig of mistletoe, staring at it between her fingers.

"Oh . . ."

Impulsively, without really considering what she was doing, she leaned over and brushed her lips clumsily against Annie's. Annie stilled, staring, her eyes frightened . . . but as Kat drew back slightly to look at her, she saw what looked like the smallest ghost of a hopeful smile playing around Annie's mouth. "_Oh_."

So she leaned back in and kissed her again, more properly this time. Annie's hands came up, tentatively, to rest on her shoulders. Her lips softened under Kat's, and parted slightly; it was, for a moment, almost unbearably sweet. The tingling warmth from that morning was back, spreading through Kat's body from head to toes.

They separated slowly. Annie looked breathless, her eyes searching Kat's face. She looked as wondering as she had when Kat had caught up to her on the bridge, transfixed by that immense symbolic spectacle.

"Kat . . ." It wasn't quite a question. Kat gave her a small smile, cheeks heating.

"Come on, we should go inside – it's probably after midnight by now. And cold," she added, not really noticing.

Annie nodded, and slipped her hand into Kat's as they turned and walked back across the bridge towards the Court, where lights were burning in the main complex and across the echoing sea of buildings beyond it.


End file.
